Machine and method of making oil filter packs



Filed May 2'7, 1946 A. R. WHITE 2,471,595

MACHINE AND METHOD OF MAKING OIL FILTER PACKS I I5 Sheets-Sheet 1 y 31, 1949. A. R. WHITE 2,471,595

MAGHINEAND METHOD OF MAKING OIL FILTER PACKS Filed May 27, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 w v JAIME/V70}? May 31, 1949. A. R. WHITE ,47 ,5

MACHINE ANb METHOD OF MAKING OIL' FILTER PACKS 3 SheetsSheet 3 Filed May 27, 1946 M fjaaw ATIOZHZ'YS Patented May 31, 1949 UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE MACHINE AND METHOD OF M'AKlNG'OIL FILTER PACKS Albert R. White, Glendale, Calif.

Application "May 27, 194.6, Serial No. 672,489

:14 Claims.

tions and arrangement of parts of the machine,

and the steps of the method, all hereinafter described and claimed.

In my United States Letters Patent, No. 2,274,113, granted on February 24, 1942, entitled Oil refiner pack, .I disclose a body'of filtering material, such as cottonfabric or waste, that is disposed around alfiltering core. The latter'ineludes an outlet pipe for oil passing through the filtering material. This core is suitably keyed to the surrounding .filtering material so that rotation of the assembled pack also willturn the outlet pipe. The filtering material is held in proper shape and fastened in place .by means of string, which is wrapped around the outside of the pack.

My United States Patent No."2,453,952, dated November 16, 1948, relating to an Oil refining ioldable pack and casing, illustrates .a flexible core having a pack structure, including cotton waste, surrounding the core. The exterior of the pack has string wrapped therearound.

An object of my present invention is to provide a machine that is adapted 'for placing cotton waste around filtering cores of the character above referred to, and .also wrapping string around the pack structure to bind the .material in place.

A further object is .to provide a machine .of the character described that will compress a predetermined amount of filtering materialaround each of the filtering cores and produce packs having uniform density.

A still further object resides in the provision of an oil filter pack-making machine that is adjustable in order to fashionpacks of varying lengths.

More specifically described, I provide an endless belt, which is guidedso as to have a depressed portion presented therein. The preformed filtering core is rotatably arranged in this depressed portion. A predetermined amount of cotton waste is delivered to-this depressed portion of the belt and the latter moves the waste into encircling relation with respect to'the'filtering core. After the cotton waste is positioned and. compressed around the core, string "or other suitable binding material is wrapped'around the pack to bind the waste in place. Thereafter-the drums about'which' the belt is trained are moved apart so as to allow the oil pack'to beremoved from the machine.

sci-wrapped so as to Gther objects and advantages will appear as the specification continues, and the novel features of my invention will be set forth in the claims hereunto appended.

For a better understanding of my invention, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this application, in

which:

Figure l is an elevation of a completed oil filter with parts in section;

Figure 2 is an end elevation of a machine constructed in accordance with my invention; Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view through a portion of the machine, and taken along the line III-III of Figure 4, with the drums arranged adjacent to one another;

Figure 4 is a horizontal section taken along the line -llL-IV of Figure 2, with the drums moved apart;

Figures 5, 6 and 7 are vertical sections taken "along the lines VV, VI-VI and VII--VII, re-

spectively, of Figure 4;

Figure'S is a top plan view of the string-feed- "ing mechanism;

' 5 Figure 9 is a vertical section taken along the line IXIX of Figure 2;

Figure 10 is a persective view of an operating handle holder; and

Figure 11 is an end elevation of one of the sliding cross-heads, portions being disclosed in section.

While I have shown only the preferred form of .my invention, it should be understood that various changes, or modifications, may be made within the scope of the annexed claims without departing from the spirit thereof.

Form of filter pack Before proceeding with the detailed description,

I will describe one form of my oil .filter packs in order that the use of the machine may be more readilyunderstood. Of course, I do not wish to-be limited to the pack that will beset forth.

In Figure l, I disclose an oil filter pack indicated generally at A and having-afilter core .3.

The latter includes an oil outlet pipe I with'a spring 2 secured thereto. A plug 3 is inserted into the end of the spring opposite the :pipe I. Thereafter, several layers of filtering clothii-are enclose the spring 2, plug 13 -and-a portion of the pipe I. Theselayers of cloth are secured in place by cords or strings 5.

Next, a layer of loofah sponge :6 is 'placed around the filtering cloth 5, .and the sponge is anchored imposition by cordorstring "I. 'Ana'il 3 8 extends through an opening 9 formed in the outlet pipe 8 and projects from both sides of the latter and serves to key the core 18 to the pack.

The filter core B is preformed before it is inserted into my machine. Suitable filtering material, such as cotton waste H3, is placed around the filter core by the machine, the details of which will be set forth later. This filtering material has a cylindrical outer surface H and parallel opposing ends i2 and IS. A pair of strings 14 are wrapped spirally around the outer surface ll of the filtering pack for holding the cotton waste in place upon the filtering core.

This spiral winding of the strings is accomplished while the pack is disposed in the machine. After the pack is removed, additional strings l5 are wrapped around the assembled pack so as to extend lengthwise thereof and across the opposing ends l2 and E3 of the filter pack.

Construction and operation of machine Referring now to the machine itself, I provide a supporting frame indicated generally at C. This frame includes upper and lower rails l6 and I1, respectively, which are arranged in pairs at opposite ends of the machine as shown in Figure 9. A fixed bearing block I8 is mounted between each pair of rails, and a shaft [9 is journaled in these blocks. The shaft H) has a drum 2S3 fixed thereto, and a driven gear 2! is secured to this shaft.

The upper and lower rails i6 and ll at each end of the machine are provided with confronting channels 22, which serve as guides for sliding cross-heads 23. The latter rotatably carry a shaft 24 that is mounted in parallel relation to the shaft [9. These shafts maintain their parallel relationship as the cross-heads 23 are moved back and forth in the channels 22. A drum 25 is fixed to and rotated by the shaft 24.

In Figures 2 and 4, I show a motor 26 that is supported on the frame C by means of a bracketlike platform 27. This motor drives a shaft 28 through a flexible coupling 29 and a pair of bevel gears 38. The shaft 28, in turn, has driving gears 3| and 32 secured thereto. with the driven gear 2! previously mentioned, and in this manner the drum 28 is rotated in the .direction of the arrow 33 shown in Figures 2,

3 and 7.

A gear 34 is fastened to the shaft E i, and this gear is adapted to mesh with and be driven by the driving gear 32 when the drum 25 is moved into the position shown in Figure 2. It will be noted in Figure 4 that the gears 32 and 3d are out of mesh; accordingly, the drum 25 will not be turned at this time.

An endless belt D is trained around the drums 2|] and 25 and has sufiicient length to provide a depressed portion 35 in its upper reach. This belt portion is loop-shaped and will cover the major peripheral surface of the pack to be made. The pack A is formed in this depressed portion of the belt when the drums are positioned as disclosed in Figures 2 and 3. Upon separating the drums 20 and 25, see Figures 4 and '7, the pack A is free to be removed from the machine.

In order to move the cross-heads 23 back and forth in their guide channels 22 and thus move the drum 25 relative to the drum 20, I have provided a pair of operating handles 36. The underneath surfaces of these handles are fashioned with notches 31. The latter engage with fixed catches 38 (see Figures 2 and when the drums and.25 are slightly spaced apart, as disclosed The gear 3! meshes in Figure 3. At this time, the centers of the filter core B and drums 20 and are equidistantly spaced apart.

ihe handles 36 are pivoted to the sliding cross-heads 23 by pins 39 and connections 40 anchored to the cross-heads. This pivotal arrangement allows the notches 3? to be engaged with or disengaged from the catches 38. When the handles 36 are retracted, the drum 25 is separated from the drum 29, as shown in Figures 4 and 7. The frame C is formed with elongated slots 4| to permit the handles 36 to be raised or lowered relative to the catches.

In Figures 4 and 9, I show a vertically-disposed plate 42 that is fastened to the frame C adjacent to the right-hand end thereof. This plate provides an end wall for the filtering material I0 at the end It of the pack A during formation of the latter. An adjustable plate 43 is mounted parallel to the plate 42 and defines an end wall for the pack end i2. Screws it, or other suitable fastening means, are used for anchoring the plate 53 to a bar 45. This bar extends between front and rear frame members 48 and 41, re-

. spectively, these members forming part of the supporting frame C.

The bar 45 has out-turned end pieces 48 that bear against the confronting faces of the frame members 66 and ll (see Figure 9). These end pieces are recessed, as at 49, so as to receive clamping bolts Plates 5! are fixed to and extend from opposite ends of the bar 45 so as to straddle the frame members 36 and ll. The purpose of these plates is to slidably support the bar 45 on the members it and 41.

When wing nuts 52 on the clamping bolts 50 are loosened, the bar +5 and its plate 13 may be adjusted toward or away from the plate i2. This allows packs A of diiferent lengths to be formed in my machine. The position of the plate 43 with respect to the plate 52 determines the length of the filter pack.

The adjustable plate 43 has an inclined slot 53 fashioned therein for receiving the outlet pipe I of the oil filter core B (see Figures 2, 3, 4, 7 and 9). A block 54 is mounted on the bar 45 and has a recess 55 arranged to receive the projecting end of the outlet pipe. A pin or spindle 56 (see Figure 4) is slidably disposed in the block 5% and is adapted to be pushed into the bore of the outlet pipe to support the latter and the filter core B in the depressed portion 35 of the endless belt D. A stop El (see Figure 4) limits inward insertion of the spindle 56 relative to the oil outlet pipe.

The method of surrounding the filter core B with the cotton waste l8 now will be described.

A predetermined amount of the cotton waste is weighed out, and this will depend upon the length and diameter of the pack to be made and the density desired for the filtering material. The filter core B is supported in the depressed portion 35 of the endless belt D. The drum 28 is turned in the direction of the arrow 33 and the drum 25 is rotated in the same direction, as suggested by the arrow 58. The preweighed cotton waste [0 is fed into space between the drums 26 and 25 when these drums are positioned as shown in Figure 3. The operator delivers this material along the entire length of the pack to be formed; that is, between plates 42 and Q3.

The core B is free to rotate in the recess 55 and the spindle 56 serves as a support for the filter core. The incoming cotton waste is fed between the core and the portion'd of the endless As the belt continues to core B, care being taken that waste is placed along the entire distance between the plates 52 and 43. The depressed portion 35 of the belt compresses the cotton waste asthe latter is applied to the filter core, and the filtering material will have uniform density throughout the pack A when the latter is completed. In order to safeguard the operator feeding the material into the machine, I have provided a cover guard 59 that encloses the upper part of the drum 2%. This guard is'hinged, as at 69, to end plates 6!. The guard may be raised into an out-of-the-way position when desired by the operator.

The -mechanism for applying the spiral winding of strings Hi around the pack now will be described. The driven shaft 28 has a pulley 62 thereon, which drives a second pulley 63 by means of a belt 64 (see Figure 2). The latter pulley is secured to and drives a shaft 65. A spiral spring 83 is anchored to this shaft so as to turn therewith. I utilize this spring for guiding the strings 14 (see Figure 9) onto the pack and thus cause the strings to .be wound spirally around the pack A as the latter is rotated.

Thestrings it are furnished from bobbins ti, and are guided through an eyelet 68. Then the strings pass around pulleys 69 and the free ends Ma (see Figures 1 and 9) are laid lengthwise along the pack A so that these ends will be held in place between the periphery of the untied pack and the endless belt D. Of course, the pack is not rotated at this time. The strings i i are engaged with the spiral spring 56 near the righthand end of the latter, as suggested by the broken lines in Figure 9. Certain of the pulleys 69 are adjustable so that tension on the strings may be varied to suit requirements.

Next, the motor 28 is put into operation again and the pack A is rotated. The strings M are fed and advanced along the pack by the spring '66, resulting in winding the strings i i spirally from one end of the pack to the other. The strings now are out from the unused portions thereof, and these cut ends are tied as at 69', to a previous winding (see Figure 1).

The pack is now ready to be removed from the machine. This is accomplished 'by disengaging the notches 37 of the handles from the catches 38 and pulling out on the handles. The latter advance the sliding cross-heads 23 toward the front E of the machine resulting in moving the drum 25 away from the drum 20. The drums now occupy the relative positions shown in Figures 4 and 7. The operator withdraws the pin or spindle '56 from the outlet pipe and the latter is removed from the recess 55 in the supporting block 54. The lengthwise strings B are applied to the filter pack by another machine or operation.

As previously stated, the spacing of the movable plate 43 from the stationary plate 22 determines the length of the pack to be formed. When -a longer or shorter pack is desired, the plate 43 is adjusted relative to the fixed plate 412, and an endless belt of the proper width is trained over the drums 20 and 25.

Brief description of operation Having thus described the various structural features of my oil filter pack-making .machine,

pipe 1' of thecore disposed at the. bottomof the slot 53. The protruding end of this pipe extends into the recess 55 of the supporting blockBLand the spindle 56 projects into the bore of the pipe to rotatably support the filter core.

Now the drum 25 is moved into the position shown in Figure 3 by the operating handles 36 and the sliding crossheads 23. The notches 3-1 on these handles are engaged with the catches 38 (see Figure 2). At this time the driving gear 32 meshes with the gear 34. When the motorl'fi is turned on, the drums 2i] and 25 will rotate 'in the direction of the arrows 33 and 58, respectiveiy, causing the belt D to move.

vA predetermined amount of cotton waste, which has'been weighed out for a pack, now is fed into the space defined between the filter core and the portion d of the belt. This incoming waste is wrapped in layers around the core-filter B by the movement of the endless belt and the free rotation of the filter core. The cotton waste is compressed around the core, and the operator feeds the waste so as to cover the entire distance between the plates 62 and 33. The density of the filtering material or cotton waste ill will be uniform throughout the pack A, since a predetermined amount of the cotton waste is used for each, dependent upon the length and diameter of the pack and the density desired.

Next, the motor 26 is stopped for a short pericd of time while the free ends I la of the strings HZ are placed lengthwise of the pack (see Figures 1 and 9). Intermediate portions of the strings, as at I ib, are engaged with the spiral spring 65 near the right-hand end of the machine. The motor is started up again, and rotation of the shaft E5 and turning of the pack will wrap the strings spirally around the compressed cotton waste.

The motor 26 is stopped and thestrings it are out near the left-hand end l2 of the pack. These cut ends then are tied to a previous winding of the string. The handles 38 are pulled outwardly, and this will separate the drum 25 from the drum 2t (see Figure 7) The oil filter pack A now may be withdrawn from the machine and is ready to have the lengthwise strings 15 applied thereto to complete the pack.

I claim:

1. In an oil filter pack-making machine, means for rotatably supporting a filter core, means for rotating the filter core and applying successive layers of a filtering material around the core and compressing these layers toward the core to provide a cylindrical oil filter pack, means for forming parallel opposing ends on the pack, and means for winding a string or the like spirally around the peripheral surface of the cylindrical pack for binding it permanently to the core.

2. In an oil filter pack-making machine, an endless belt having a depressed portion therein defining a loop, means for rotatably supporting a filter core in the loop with the loop portion of the belt spaced from the core, the loop having an open section therein through which filtering material may be introduced into the space between the core and the loop of the belt, and means for operating the belt to compress the filtering material upon the core to provide an oil filter pack.

3. In an oil filter pack-making machine, an endless belt having a depressed portion therein defining a :loop, means for rotatably supporting a filter core-in the loop with the .loopportion of the belt spaced from the core, the loop having an open section therein through which filtering material may be introduced into the space between the core and the loop of the belt, means for operating the belt to compress the filtering material upon the core to provide an oil filter pack, and means for binding a string or the like around the compressed filtering material while the pack is still disposed in the loop.

4. In an oil filter pack-making machine, an endless belt having a depressed portion therein defining a loop, means for rotatably supporting a filter core in the loop with the loop portion of the belt spaced from the core, the loop having an open section therein through which filtering material may be introduced into the space between the core and the loop of the belt, means for operating the belt to compress the filtering material upon the core to provide an oil filter pack, means for binding a string or the like around the compressed filtering material while the pack is still disposed in the loop, and means for opening up the loop to free the bound pack from the belt.

5. In an oil filter pack-making machine, an endless belt having a depressed portion therein defining a loop, plates arranged at opposite sides of the belt and forming end walls for the loop, means for rotatably supporting a filter core in the loop with the loop portion of the belt spaced from the core, the loop having an open section therein extending between the plates through which filtering material may be introduced into the space between the core and the loop portion of the belt, and means for operating the belt to compress the filtering material upon the core to provide a cylindrical oil filtering pack.

6. In an oil filter pack-making machine, an endless belt having a depressed portion therein defining a loop, plates arranged at opposite sides of the belt and forming end walls for the loop, means for rotatably supporting a filter core in the loop with the loop portion of the belt spaced from the core, the loop having an open section therein extending between the plates through which filtering material may be introduced into the space between the core and the loop portion of the belt, means for operating the belt to compress the filtering material upon the core to provide a cylindrical oil filtering pack, means for adjusting the plates relative to one another to form packs of various lengths, and means for binding a string or the like spirally around the compressed filtering material throughout the entire length of the pack.

7. In an oil filter pack-making machine, an endless belt having a depressed portion therein defining a loop, plates arranged at opposite sides of the belt and forming end walls for the loop, means for rotatably supporting a filter core in the loop with the loop portion of the belt spaced from the core, the loop having an open section therein extending between the plates through which filtering material may be introduced into the space between the core and the loop portion of the belt, means for operating the belt to compress the filtering material upon the core to provide a cylindrical oil filtering pack, means for adjusting the plates relative to one another to form packs of various lengths, and means for binding a string or the like spirally around the compressed filtering material throughout the entire length of the pack, while the pack is still disposed in the loop between the plates.

8. In an oil filter pack-making machine, a

pair of rotatably-mounted drums arranged in parallel relation with each other, means for adjusting the drums toward and away from one another, an endless belt trained over the drums and having a depressed portion between the drums defining a loop when the drums are positioned in adjacent relation, plates arranged at opposite sides of the belt and forming end walls for the loop, means for rotatably supporting a filter core in the loop with the loop portion of the belt spaced from the core, the loop having an open section between the drums and extending between the plates through which filtering material may be introduced into the space between the core and the loop portions of the belt, and means for operating the belt to compress the filtering material upon the core to provide a cylindrical oil filtering pack, the latter being releasable from the loop when the drums are moved apart.

9. In an oil filter pack-making machine, means for rotatably supporting a filter core, means for applying and compressing filtering material around the core while the latter is rotated to form a cylindrical oil filter pack, a

revolvable shaft mounted parallel to the axis of the pack and having a spiral-shaped string-guide thereon, one end of the string being securable to the pack and the string-guide being arranged to guide the string along the compressed material when the shaft and pack are rotated, and means for turning the shaft to bind the pack with the string.

10. In an oil filter pack-making machine, an endless belt of a predetermined length, a pair of rotatably-mounted drums arranged in parallel relation with each other, the belt being trained around the drums and having a looped portion in one reach and lying between the drums and extending toward the other reach of the belt, means for rotatably supporting a filter core in the loop with the core being spaced from the belt portion forming the loop, the loop having an open section through which filtering material may be introduced into the space between the core and the loop portion of the belt, and means for rotating the drums for causing the loop portion to wrap and compress the material around the core to form a cylindrical mass, the fixed length of the belt and the bearing of the loop against the said other reach determining the density of the pack when a predetermined quantity of the material is fed into the loop.

ll. In an oil filter packnnaking machine, means for supporting a hollow filter core with freedom of rotation, means for Wrapping a predetermined quantity of filtering material around the rotatable core with a predetermined compressive force, and means for winding a string or the like around the packed filtering material to secure the latter permanently to the filter core.

12. In an oil filter pack-making machine, means for supporting a filter core with freedom of rotation, means for wrapping a filtering material in layers around the rotatable core and compressing the successive layers onto the filter core with a predetermined compressive force to provide an oil filter pack of a predetermined diameter and density, and means for winding a string or the like about the periphery of the pack to secure the compressed filtering material perma nently to the filter core.

13. In the herein described method of forming cylindrical filtering packs with all of the packs having a uniform density of filtering material, the steps of weighing out a predetermined amount of filtering material, winding this material in layers around a rotatably supported filter core while arranging the material throughout the length of the pack to be formed in order to obtain a uniform density, compressing the material to a predetermined extent into a cylindrical shape of a predetermined diameter, and winding a string spirally around the pack while the latter is held in a compressed state.

14. In the herein described method of forming oil filtering packs with all of the packs having a uniform density of filtering material; the steps of weighing out a predetermined amount of filtering material for each pack; Winding this material in layers around a filter core, while distributing the material uniformly throughout the entire length of the pack being formed; uniformly compressing the successive layers of 10 material as they are wound on the core to a pre determined extent by uniform pressure applied against the periphery of the pack being made toward the core; and binding the periphery of the pack to secure and maintain the compressed material permanently to the core.

ALBERT R. WHITE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

